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4.4 Application of Regional and State-Specific Price Adjusters

Cost Estimates Based on System-Provided Data Only

Cost estimates for injury-related deaths can be requested at the national, regional, or state level. Depending on the level of geographic detail requested, radio button selections allow cost estimates to variously be expressed in terms of:

• U.S. prices, which reflect costs that are representative of economic characteristics nationally,
• region-specific prices, which reflect costs that are representative of the economic characteristics in one selected multi-state region,
• state-specific prices, which reflect costs that are representative of the economic characteristics in one selected state.

When nationwide cost estimates are requested, they will be automatically expressed in terms of U.S. prices. Cost estimates for one selected region can be expressed in terms of U.S. prices or region-specific prices, while cost estimates for one selected state can be expressed in terms of U.S. prices, region-specific prices, or state-specific prices. For general guidelines about how cost estimates expressed in terms of U.S., region-specific, or state-specific prices should be interpreted, see Section 2.7.

Regional or state-level cost estimates (lifetime medical, lifetime work loss, or both combined) are initially calculated in terms of U.S. prices. Based on radio button selections these initial cost estimates can be optionally converted to region-specific or state-specific prices through the application of an appropriate geographic adjustment factor (Tables 10 and 11). In conjunction with such adjustment, an additional radio button selection indicates whether the final cost estimates should be additive to the U.S. total (the default) or additive within the selected state/region.

Regional or state-level cost estimates that are additive to the U.S. total:

• are such that parallel estimates for all regions or all states will sum to the unadjusted national total (expressed in U.S. prices) for each report category (e.g., type of injury), and as such represent the correct fractions of the unadjusted national total for each category, but
• will not sum across report categories to the overall report total (e.g., the report total without regard to injury type) – estimates will not be additive within the selected state/region.

Regional or state-level cost estimates that are additive within the selected state/region:

• will sum across report categories to the overall report total for the selected state/region, but
• will not be such that parallel estimates for all regions or all states will sum to the unadjusted national total for each report category.

Cost Estimates That Combine System-Provided Data and User-Provided Data

The general framework for calculating cost estimates based on a combination of system-provided data and user-provided data is described in Section 4.1. The preliminary average cost estimates described in that framework will incorporate price adjusters according to the procedures described above; summary cost estimates are then calculated as described in the general framework. Because user-provided data may represent injuries for geographic areas other than a specific state or region (e.g., counties or municipalities) the additive properties described above cannot generally be enforced in the summary cost estimates.

To obtain the technical report providing further details on the application of price adjusters, please send an e-mail request to InjuryInfo@cdc.gov.

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WISQARS Cost of Injury Reports